Wow, that IS generous! It's nice to see that the airlines aren't too shameful to try and screw... I mean help out our soldiers.

It's like the airline industry is trying to rack up as much bad publicity as it possible can.

What an insult to the military.

That warms the cockles of my heart.

I can't think of a better reason than this to cancel my Admirals Club membership.

I deployed 3 times when I was in the military...each time I had to fly out of Atlanta. I had 4 bags, and an M16 case. I was charged almost $200 dollars every time. fascist

Doesn't the army have their own planes? Why are they flying commercial?

I can't think of a better way to pay back the nation which bailed you out.

I think they shouldn't be calling fees generous at all.

However, I don't think they're required to waive any of them, right?

Either way, I'm peeved that they thought this was "generous".

@B: The army flies commercial a lot. It's a lot easier to send trainees home in 20 different commercial flights than in just one or two military flights.

I remember heading to Saudi Arabia about 15 years ago. The Air Force chose to fly me commercial and of course I carried extra bags of chem suits, flak jacket, helmet, and several sets of desert uniforms.

Forget the headache of getting out of Newark on the day before Thanksgiving, but Continental informed me I was going to have to pony-up $35 a bag for the 3 extra bags I had. It was at a time before the military handed you a credit card--so cash really was a factor. It sure would have been nice to get a little slack in a situation like that, but I understand it is a business.

But hey, it could have been worse....it could have been a Delta flight and I could have dies on the shitter.

Considering the US Government bail-outs of commercial airlines, military should get 100% free rides.

I hate to side with American here, but . . . if you are on official travel, you will get reimbursed by the Government for the fee. It isn't a private business's duty to subsidise the Government. If a service member went into a steak house and said "you charge everyone else $50.00 for a meal, but I am in the military, so you should only charge me $25.00" would that be okay? A government employee cannot take advantage of an offer that is given to them only because of thier position as a government employee. So while it may seem that American is being evil and unAmerican (sorry) here, they really are not. The baggage has a cost to move, and it is not unfair that they pass this cost on to the consumer.

It's an airline.... Why are people expecting anything other than charging as per usual?

Do you not read your own blog and the posts about airlines?

@Ein2015: That was my first thought, too. What the heck is "generous" about having to pay? You would think that airlines would be supportive of those in the Armed Forces and not charge at all, but, alas, I guess we're all feeling the crunch of higher oil prices.

@RickinStHelen: Does it really cost them $140 to move those bags? I doubt it. I'm curious how much it would have cost to have those bags shipped via UPS or FedEx. If you really think that it costs $140 to move those bags on a plane that is already flying somewhere, but UPS or FedEx charges less, are they doing their service for a loss? Doubt it.

By the way, you're a douche.

@Ein2015: I agree with you. This is NOT generous but I'm not sure they need to waive them.

Of course, AA could use a little good press so they may want to rethink it.

Fail out of highschool? Can't even get into community college? No skills to get a job? Join the army! Then you'll be ENTITLED to get free stuff, all the time! Airlines waive fees, then you can bitch about fees they don't waive! Sit in the airport bar wearing your uniform, and wait for an old codger to buy you a drink, thanking you for your "service"! Don't worry that you fill vending machines on obscure army bases... it's the ARMY! It's a CAREER!

@photomikey: The Army -- Protecting your right to post unfunny stuff on the interwebs, 24/7.

My brother's in the Navy, but screw you anyway. Damn, I'm ashamed to be a Liberal sometimes.

@photomikey: Wow, I agree with your conclusion yet you make yourself look like a complete jerk in giving it. You need a high school diploma to get into the military; they sometimes still will accept a GED. The young men and women who choose to serve are not the dregs of society. "Halp us fotomiky weir stuk in Irak!"

@applekid...

just what I waes thinking. I think they shoudl debit their next bailout $400 for these poor guys.

@photomikey: Hey Mikey...why don't go get yourself a frickin' clue there bud.

Not everyone has mommy and daddy to pay for their education and some of us actually believe in spending a few years out of our life in service to something other than ourselves.

Incidentally, this former groundpounding infantryman managed to graduate with a 4.0 and an invitation to join Phi Beta Kappa. So let's see your mad skills there bub.

for all you who shout at anyone who questions doing anything that doesn't "respect" the troops or seem patriotic enough --

The point is that from the story, the airline has set a limit of 190 pounds in baggage for military personnel going to duty. What are you saying it should be instead? Unlimited?

@photomikey: This commenter has been disabled, so other folks, please don't feel you need to respond to this troll's comments.

@RickinStHelen:
Exactly. Every time I flew commercial while in the military I paid what they asked and was later reimbursed after filing my travel voucher. That's the way it works. Being given perks for being military is nice, expecting them is pretentious.

Of course I was in the military during a period of time when it wasn't popular to "support the troops." Saying you support the troops isn't supporting troops. You know what I would have liked for support? Give my wife some cash while I'm deployed. How about you babysit the kids so she can get away for an evening? You know what I don't care about? A letter from a stranger telling me they support me. Random people posting in blogs that they support the troops. Words are words, actions speak louder... so does cash.

not siding with AA but most military do get GTC(Gov't Travel Cards) to travel with and use for expenses just like this or something in their orders. now if the Sgt forgot he had it...thats one thing. but making comments on how your company is "generous", blah i dont think so. i've flown commercial on official orders and had no problem with bags and have been bumped to first class for free when in uniform. ITS NICE! something you wont have for MONTHS!! thanks for being generous! why the Sgt didnt use his GTC who knows or why his orders didnt have something saying baggage fees would be refunded who knows, probably something overlooked.

@kepler11: i think people are saying it should be a uniform policy throughout all airlines...what do YOU think it should be since you asked the question?

@kepler11: Personally, I was responding to the absurd generalizations of the commenter, not the post, so let me give my take on the situation mentioned in the post.

Let me make an analogy: if you get sent by your company on a business trip, then your company has the obligation to cover your expenses when you travel.

In the same way, if this particular soldier needed to bring three bags on the flight for all of the equipment needed for the deployment, the Army and the airline should have sorted out the details in advance (the military generally doesn't give out credit cards unless you need to travel commercially routinely).

I understand that some businesses will ask their employees to cover any incidental expenses out of pocket and then get reimbursed. Given the fact that the salary paid to enlisted personnel is considerably lower than what most people make in the private sector, this really isn't a reasonable option here.

So the real problem is with the Army—they should have ensured that the baggage charges were covered in advance. Secondarily, I would fault the airline for not being a little more flexible considering that this soldier was going on a deployment. Considering just how new these baggage policies are, I'm surprised they don't give their employees a little more discretion to be flexible.

You mods suck for disabling that commenter... Be all you can be WITHOUT the army! Just cause this guy CHOSE a line of work that puts his life in danger for no reason doesn't give him any special treatment in my book.

Let's all focus on the actual issue of airlines screwing over their own customers and ignore the media spin added to this please. This person being in the army has no bearing on the issue of airlines passing the buck to their customers.

Who paid for the ticket? The army or the soldier? Huge difference between the two. If the army bought it, it is official travel and they shouldn't pay anything for the luggage. If the soldier did, this falls under private travel with a military discount voluntarily given to the person by the airline. I don't think airlines should be footing the bill for fees that the military should be paying for.

It is called "Bump your baggage and haul air packages for small package shipping companies willing to pay premium price for goods flying across country."

Yes, the airlines are still flying packages. And making money. Why in hades should they give away what others are willing to pay a premium for?

BTW, I have done the day trip flights (LAX to SFO, DFW to HOU etc) and never needed to check a bag. Shouldn't I get a discount for not having luggage?

@RickinStHelen: So I am a douche for pointing out that the Military reimburses Soldiers, Marines, etc for the cost of the bags? I am a douche becase I pointed out that as an employee of the Government, you are not allowed to recieve benefits that the general public can't just because you are employed by the Government? And I am a douche because I pointed out the airlines have a cost involved in moving the baggage? Wow, I guess I shouldn't have spent 10 years in the Army, and the 15 years in non-profit and public service jobs.

I support the free enterprise system. A business should not be pressured into giving breaks to the Government, just because it's the Government. This applies to a local coffee shop being "encouraged" to give free coffee to a cop so they will respond to a call quicker, or a large corporation being "encouraged" to give a break to a Soldier flying on official business. The incident was not a 18 year old kid trying to get home on leave, but rather a Soldier reporting on official business.

You may not agree with the charge, but there is nothing evil about it. You are always free to fly another airline.

Douchefully yours, Rick

@thefastest: Name-calling is inappropriate. Do not do this again.

In his Military Travel orders it should state that he is allowed excess baggage. This also includes all information pertaining his flight.

As for Government Credit Cards, no one likes dealing with Bank of America, Neither do I. I have never gotten a Government Credit Card, its BoA. Yes, they overcharge the Government too.

He has to get his Flight Confirmation through: Carson Wright Travel Agency from Fort Hood, TX.

SGT Martinez, Sean T.
Texas Army National Guard
36th ID
Network Technician 25B

@B: Re: Military as a people carrier; Pan Am flew many times more soldiers during Vietnam than the Air Force did. Military logistics aircraft can't carry more than a few dozen people typically - and then in very uncomfortable quarters (think nylon webbing seats, LOTS of noise, and very little insulation) - so commercial carriers typically fill the gap for troop logistics while C-5s, C-17s, and C-130s move equipment, which doesn't seem to care how cold or noisy it gets during the 14-hour flight to Ramstein.

ATA airlines was forced out of business because their military contracts fell through - your tax dollars were the only thing keeping them flying.

Would we be complaining if a Senator was charged for excess luggage?

A public servant is a public servant...

My husband was sent to Fort McCoy, Wisconsin for training before he was sent to Iraq. He had a SH*TLOAD of equipment in his green army duffel bags, probably 3 of them, plus a backpack as a carry on - 90% army. He would of been reimbursed with a travel voucher granted, but he took a pay decrease and he might not of been able to come up with $300 in one shot for his luggage.

@photomikey: In most airports, the military folks just go to the USO.

so with that basic starting pay of 1340/mo gross this is of course affordable.

christ it's not as if the extra bags are full of 28 bathing suits because they couldn't decide which one made them look best.

don't fly american.

C-130's have nylon webbing seats and only have legs for about 8-12 hours max. C-17's and C-5's have traditional airline seats that can be installed in the event that cargo is not hauled. Also, C-130's, C-17's and C-5's are insulated and have heating and A/C.

Also, during Vietnam the merchant marines carried troops overseas.

And FYI, ATA sucked. Go to the FAA website and track their on-time stats as well as their lost baggage stats. The DoD was the only thing keeping ATA limping along as long as it did.

Additionally, I've always been reimbursed for excess baggage when charged. If a airman, marine, sailor thinks they'll have excess baggage, the USPS can handle it.

@ffmariners: senators get paid A LOT more. considering the basic payrate for an enlisted man caps out at about 6500/mo and that's with 20 years experience and getting to e9, this is pathetic. i haven't met one enlisted person that made it over e4 on a short enlistment (4-6 years).

this is just taking advantage of guys that don't have a choice on where they're going. or really the choice is go or be awol and face jail time. this isn't a family vacation. this is necessary equipment that cannot reasonable be repurchased and won't be provied.

reasonably*

I can see that maybe the airline needs to get paid for hauling the bags, but they could directly bill the government (enough soldiers are flying all the time that this could easily be standardized) rather than nickel-and-dime each soldier, who has undoubtedly got bigger things to worry about on the way to Iraq or wherever.

@katylostherart: Ok, would you care if they charged a senator'd staffer the excess baggage fee? Many of them make < $30k.

It is not our job to pick WHICH public servants get breaks. None of them do. That is the easiest way, our tax dollars wind up paying for it in the end anyways.

The reason I'm asking what the appropriate amount of baggage to be allowed for free for military personnel is that as soon as anyone questions whether the soldier should have some limit to the amount of bags for free, or any such benefit, and should operate in the same rules that we all do, they are labeled as "not supporting the troops" or something very accusatory. Even the way this story itself is phrased by Consumerist takes this bias (and I don't particularly like what Consumerist is doing here) -- how dare American Airlines charge a soldier for checking bags over the limit.

So, what is the amount of free luggage that American should have set, so that you wouldn't be questioning their patriotism if they charged for baggage in excess of that? I suspect the answer is that you will always blame the airline if you find out it charged for even the slightest thing that you perceived was not "respecting the troops".

And that is the problem -- this kneejerk "support for the troops" is that as soon as you start questioning it or trying to get them to behave within rules too, you are labeled a jerk.

Military personnel are not all heroes. They aren't all diving on grenades to save their comrades. Many of them go to do very mundane jobs. And I think people have a very romantic notion of what they do, which is not actually the case for most individuals in the military, but that translates into on-the-spot preferential treatment because people feel pressured to do this by the media, peers, or for fear of being accused.

Can't military people operate within the rules of the airline too, even very generous rules that are set by the airline to favor troops going to active duty?

If the airline set 190 pounds as the limit, which is way above any normal person, and fit for the average soldier's belongings, why do you act as if they did something incredibly wrong by charging them for their use above that limit? How about 250 pounds, would you swear not to fly American ever again if they then charged troops for going over that?

When will it end?

@ffmariners: the senator's assistant could pack one carryon bag. i've packed a week's worth of clothing and brought that with me to the gate and onto the plane.

3 a bags full of miscellaneous armor and uniforms isn't going to fit in the overhead.

you're confusing the necessary with the extraneous.

@photomikey: Neither you, nor myself for that matter, is worthy to breathe the same air or walk on the same ground as a soldier.

They are doing jobs that I am damn glad I don't have to do.. And, at the same time, I am damn ashamed to make that statement.

Just the other day I flew from Philadelphia to Dallas. And I had been upgraded to first class. And I saw a soldier flying alone on that flight. When all was said and done, I was sitting in the back in his seat.

I do agree that, if the government reimburses the soldier, then the soldier should pay and be reimbursed. But if it were my airline, I would waive the fee, reimbursed or not.

It should also be noted that I recently heard a person boarding an American flight in Dallas allow soldiers in uniform to board first with the first class passengers.

@kepler11: if a soldier is travelling as part of his orders he should get extra consideration. if he is going to disneyland and just happens to be in the army, he should pay the fee.

@strife1012: what do you mean you've never gotten one? of course we hate using them, it's a pain in the arse to track and make sure it's paid and BoA is a POS company. but im sure you had the chance to get one. i know i only used it when i came back and got smacked with baggage fees overseas. but most definetly reimbursed.

@ffmariners: ps, i make less than 30k a year, and i take home far less than 30k a year. i learned to pack better.

@kepler11: Military personnel are all heroes, no matter what their job. How would you like to do their job?

I don't care how mundane their particular job is. They signed up to put their lives on the line if called.